Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Less-creepy spiny spider…

Another variety of spiny spider is also living on my front deck. This one is an Arrow-shaped Micrathena and is kindly (wisely) living amongst the hanging plants under the umbrella, so she isn't in my way.

A half-inch long spider against a busy background isn't easy to photograph (especially without a macro lens) and I'm afraid I scared the beejeebers out of her at first try. She leapt off her web straight at me when I put my finger up to give the camera something to focus on. How convenient that she landed on a nice solid background that contrasted so well with her colors...

Left alone (and uneaten) for awhile, she returned to her web and I came back with the DSLR, manual focus, and a steadier hand.

Okay, one more creepy spider pic: I moved the Spiny Micrathena's web again this morning... So I took her photo again while I was at it. (Not sure what she's doing with the drop of water that it looks like she's holding.)

Chatter straight to your In box...

Cape May Weather (Wildwood Station)

What is Chatter?

A blog (with photos) of light-heartedly amusing and subversively educational ramblings about Nature from the minute to the infinite, peppered with random thoughts and occasional appearances by the author's felines.

Why Wren?

A wren is a little brown bird who chatters all of the time in a voice too big for its size. They remind me of, well, me. And they make me smile. Hope these pages do the same for you!

Who is this Wren, anyway?

Hi, I’m Wren, a happily single forty-something with a degree in biology who may or may not be working in the field (career subject to change without notice). I’m a definite hermit and homebody and currently share my nest with way too many indoor-only cats, a mix of cage birds, one snake, and whatever houseplants survive my sometimes-green thumb, all set in my own little corner of the world which is home to deer, coons, possums, rabbits, voles, moles, mice & (too cool) coyotes, 100+ species of birds, snakes, turtles, lizards, frogs, toads...